Diablo 3 - End-Game Comments

July 5th, 2012, 15:11

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
The low production values does mean it's not as "exciting" as D3 - and it's clearly not as strong a short-term experience. But if you're into the genre (a lot of people aren't) - then we do have alternatives.

Huhm, this would mean that Path of Exile will actually be *less* fun for me, as I can't see myself invested long-term into a game anymore. Sucks, because I was considering donating the $10 to get into the Closed Beta. The videos seem show high enough production values to me, so what's not as good as Diablo 3 in terms of that and the short-term experience then?

Originally Posted by Thaurin
Huhm, this would mean that Path of Exile will actually be *less* fun for me, as I can't see myself invested long-term into a game anymore. Sucks, because I was considering donating the $10 to get into the Closed Beta. The videos seem show high enough production values to me, so what's not as good as Diablo 3 in terms of that and the short-term experience then?

Primarily, the story and presentation suffers a lot - because it's rather dry and "non-cinematic".

Beyond that, I'd say the moment-to-moment gameplay of Diablo 3 is better, because they have such a large variety of animations - and most are rather cool, visually.

Path of Exile has a limited amount of animations - and they obviously don't have the resources to make unique stuff for every single skill.

So, the "feel" of the game is different - and I'd expect most casual fans of the genre will be bored, because they're not getting spoonfed with an "experience" and amazing cutscenes and other cinematic ways to get your attention.

You'd have to care about stuff like complex character builds - with a huge amount of variety - and you'd have to accept that you can't just pick stuff at random and expect to do well.

It's a very slow burner, too. Because it takes time to develop your character and it will be hours before you have enough skills to get a decent feel for how this game operates in the long-term.

DArtagnan

Originally Posted by KnightPT
The problem is that D3 itemization is weak, too random, too much low level/crappy rares drop in inferno and the AH just made items way less important when they drop reducing our eagerness to kill stuff more and more for more drops.

This might be true.
But are we are complaining that the game with random item generation , is too random ?

Thought it was kind of the point ?

All this whining just reminds me why they removed random generated loot in mass games like WOW.

…

That being said - they should eliminate chance that magic item is better than legendary … and so on.
….

D3 problem is not items.
Its that once you beat it in Inferno mode - you basically dont have nothing else to do , and no reason to continue playing.

Because they do not have random generated maps - like all other new ARPGs have (Torchlight infinite dungeons , POE random map drops…etc)

Originally Posted by Twotricks
Because they do not have random generated maps - like all other new ARPGs have (Torchlight infinite dungeons , POE random map drops…etc)

I had to look this up. This only goes for above-ground maps. Dungeons are still random. Furthermore, there are random events and adventures that pop up. Apparently, that has been done to increase immersion.

Random maps won't change anything - if the core isn't intact. If you're not enjoying the basic gameplay - then having a slightly different map setup isn't going to be the deciding factor. It's not irrelevant and it does spice things up a bit - but it's tiny compared with interesting/desirable loot in this genre.

However, if a developer one day actually manages to generate meaningful differences in their random maps - THEN it might start to matter. So far, even the best in the genre have been about turning map pieces 90 degrees this or that way (or just flipping them 180) - and interconnecting them randomly. You end up with the exact same experience - slightly modified so you can't predict the layout.

Originally, this feature of the roguelike had more to do with saving memory and development time than actually adding to the experience, beyond enabling "eternal" gameplay.

DArtagnan

There's practically no randomization in D3, dungeons or not. The events are indeed nice to find, but they are rare enough that they are a non-factor in any discussion of the game's faults.

Horrendously bad itemization, little randomization, irritating Inferno MMO-gear-gating as a method of balancing… just some of the issues. And I surely must not be the only one to have my flow of fun routinely doused by those stupid James Bond villain monologues from our supposed Prime Evils.

Originally Posted by Drithius
by those stupid James Bond villain monologues from our supposed Prime Evils.

"I want a new soul."
"Shaken or stirred, Sir ?"
"Shaken."

-- “ Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.“ (E.F.Schumacher, Economist, Source)

The fun in D2 for me was beating Hell difficulty mode. I had to spend a load of time farming champions and bosses to get the rare runes and great uniques to make Hell doable, and even so, some champion mobs would spawn with double immunities that would be almost impossible (I still remember, it was the double combo of lightning and physical resists that made my Flashdancer run like a little girl ) My build should have included fire skills, but I got around it. It was a challenge and fun. And I never bought any items online.

But, by the end of the slog with one character to Hell, I was done with D2. The challenge once beat was no longer worth the slog again.

Originally Posted by Thrasher
The fun in D2 for me was beating Hell difficulty mode. I had to spend a load of time farming champions and bosses to get the rare runes and great uniques to make Hell doable, and even so, some champion mobs would spawn with double immunities that would be almost impossible (I still remember, it was the double combo of lightning and physical resists that made my Flashdancer run like a little girl ) My build should have included fire skills, but I got around it. It was a challenge and fun. And I never bought any items online.

But, by the end of the slog with one character to Hell, I was done with D2. The challenge once beat was no longer worth the slog again.

I think that pretty much mirrors my experience of D3 so far, aside from not having to work around a build decision. I'm not using the AHs at all. Occasionally I hit a boss I can't get past so have to firstly try different builds, equipment setups, then if that fails I try crafting some stuff to improve, and if that fails its grinding for a bit to find better items/more cash for crafting.